Mathias Allemand

• PhD
• Professor (Titularprofessor) at University of Zurich

The current study examined the perceptions of commonly employed aging-related measures among older adults. We recruited 56 older adults (MAge = 65.96, 42% female, 94% white) and presented them with 12 scales commonly employed to capture aspects of healthy aging. After viewing each scale, the participants completed a questionnaire regarding the scal...

Recent studies suggest that personality traits can be changed through volitional change efforts such as personality interventions. However, there is limited empirical research on which factors explain individual differences in intervention gains. Based on suggestions from recent personality development theories and intervention frameworks, we 1) ex...

Research suggests that generativity may serve as a path to the experience of purpose in life. However, little is known about how this relationship is influenced by age and future time perspective (FTP). The present study aimed to investigate age and FTP as moderators of the association between generativity and sense of purpose. A total of 787 parti...

Several studies have noted associations between having a strong sense of purpose or direction in life and better cognitive health outcomes including better memory, executive functioning, and reduced dementia risk. However, limited research has considered why these associations occur. Engaging in cognitively stimulating activities such as reading is...

A growing body of research suggests that personality traits can be changed through psychological interventions, but it is unclear whether and to what extent these trait changes are accompanied by changes in self-esteem. The present study examined the link between changes in personality traits and self-esteem during a coaching intervention for perso...

While research into meaning in life (MIL) recognizes its developmental nature, there is little empirical evidence into age differences in MIL, especially in terms of its constituent components purpose, coherence, and significance. Using Local Structural Equation Modeling, we examined cross-sectional mean-level and structural age differences in MIL...

Open Access via doi: There are well-established theoretical and empirical foundations for a negative association between trait positive affectivity and anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders and a positive association between trait negative affectivity and anxiety symptoms, respectively. However, no previous meta-analysis systematically estimated to...

Fifty years ago, the Rosenhan experiment was one of the most impactful psychological studies across decades. One of the main claims of the experiment was that clinicians could be negatively biased in their first clinical impressions, which would negatively impact further clinical decisions. We conducted two experiments (N = 56 and 64) in which psyc...

Objective Cross-sectional studies suggest that individuals who perceive a broader future horizon may be more likely to consider the future consequences of their actions and, as a result, engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors. However, research has yet to consider how this association plays out on the daily level. Method The present study used dail...

Recent studies suggest that personality traits can be changed through volitional change efforts such as personality interventions. However, there is limited empirical research on which factors explain individual differences in intervention gains. Based on suggestions from recent personality development theories and intervention frameworks, we 1) ex...

Engagement in healthier lifestyle behaviors often is motivated by a focus on the future. However, there is limited research on the associations between health behavior and future time perspective, defined as people's tendency to perceive their future as expansive or as limited. Data came from a survey of U.S. adults ( N = 805, 49.3% female; M = 50...

Background and objective: Research has shown that perceptions of future time as limited are associated with more depressive symptoms. However, there is limited research on which dimensions of future time perspective (FTP: opportunity, extension, constraint) are associated with depression, anxiety, and stress, and whether these findings vary across...

Cross-sectional work suggests that higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness are consistently related to more subjective cognitive complaints. Little is known about the longitudinal associations. We used data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development to examine how personality and cognitive complaints jointly unfolded...

This article examines whether people are motivated to change their life direction at all, who is currently changing their purpose, and whether they prefer the assistance of a digital companion or a professional when changing their purpose. Adults (N = 792, 50.3% women) participated in a survey that addressed these questions. Across all participants...

Individuelle Persönlichkeitsunterschiede können in Psychotherapie und Beratung sowohl Probleme als auch Ressourcen darstellen. In der Praxis besteht oft ein Mangel an Wissen über nichtpathologische Persönlichkeitseigenschaften. Zudem wurden einige traditionelle Vorstellungen über Persönlichkeit im Erwachsenenalter durch neue Forschungsergebnisse wi...

Conscientiousness and sense of purpose consistently predict health, wellbeing, and health behavior. However, it remains an open question whether they are unique or overlapping predictors of health and wellbeing. The current study considered this question using the MOSAiCH study, a nationally representative sample of 2305 Swiss adults ( M: 52.33 yea...

The mechanisms of change underlying the effectiveness of personality change interventions are largely unclear. In this study, we used data from a three-month digital intervention with an intensive longitudinal design to test whether a greater realization of general change factors is partly responsible for personality change. Participants (N = 679,...

Longitudinal research is lacking with respect to how negative emotional reactivity and somatic symptoms during adolescence set the stage for later health. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine within-person associations between negative emotional reactivity and somatic symptoms during adolescence and their effects on health and wellbein...

Little is known about how lay older adults view measures commonly employed to assess healthy aging. This study examined older adults’ perceptions of scales capturing psychological wellbeing, psychosocial factors, and physical health. Participants (n = 60 US adults; MAge = 65.49, 41.18% Female, 94.12% White) were asked to rate how easy each measure...

The current study investigated how perceived social support was associated with personality trait development in a Swedish longitudinal sample ( n = 3914; mean age = 63.09 years) with six waves of data on individuals’ Big Five personality traits, and perceived support from family, friends, and a special someone. We employed random intercept cross-l...

Positive mental health (PMH) is important for sports coaches to keep functioning well over time, but little is known about its longitudinal stability. Consequently, this study examined stability and change of emotional, psychological, and social well-being in a sample of 422 sports coaches (Mage = 44.48, SD = 11.03) in terms of measurement invarian...

Objective Recent research suggests that personality traits can be changed by psychological interventions. However, it is unclear whether these intended personality changes can be maintained or merely reflect ephemeral shifts. Method The present study reports 1‐year follow‐up effects of a 3‐month digital intervention for personality trait change. P...

Despite the value of sense of purpose during older adulthood, this construct often declines with age. With some older adults reconsidering the relevance of purpose later in life, the measurement of purpose may suffer from variance issues with age. The current study investigated whether sense of purpose functions similarly across ages and evaluated...

The desire to change one’s personality traits has been shown to be stronger if people are dissatisfied with associated aspects of their life. While evidence for the effects of interventions on personality trait change is increasing, it is unclear whether these lead to subsequent improvements in the satisfaction with various domains of life. In this...

Objective: Emerging research challenges the one-factor model of the future time perspective (FTP) scale by demonstrating two- and three-factor models of the FTP scale. Method: Three samples (i.e., Switzerland and the United States; N = 2022) explored the factor structure, age pattern differences, tested the link between FTP factors, psychologica...

The concept of differentiation describes increasing or decreasing similarities between inter-individual differences on psychological constructs, reflecting processes of specialization or adaptation. In this study, we studied age-differentiation in personality traits in (1) the trait domain and facet loadings, (2) the correlations between trait doma...

The goal of this study was to test the effects of a 7-week digital self-control intervention to increase physical activity using a two-arm randomized controlled trial. The self-control treatment group showed greater increases in self-reported physical activity (MET's) than the comparison group. Both groups significantly increased their daily steps...

Past research has suggested that the path to purpose involves connections with people along the way. In support, sense of purpose appears higher amongst those adults with more positive social relationships and interactions. However, research has yet to consider whether associations between sense of purpose and social relationship variables differ a...

Background The aim of this study was to determine whether stimulation and support in early childhood and best friendship quality in adolescence predict adult personality. Participants and procedure We used data from 123 individuals from an ongoing longitudinal study, with multiple assessment phases and modalities (observation, parental rating, sel...

People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to desc...

People differ in the way they live their daily lives. For some people, daily life is characterized by multiple and diverse experiences, while others have more stability and routine in their lives. However, little is known about how variety in daily life relates to the expression of personality states. The present study examined within-person associ...

Aging is tied to transitions in occupational, social, and personal contexts, which can have implications for changes in who one is and how connected they feel to others. The current study uses data from 5,844 older adults (Ages: 60-66) with six annual reports on the Big Five personality traits and three distinct social support types (family, friend...

Recent intervention research has shown that personality traits can be modified through psychological interventions. However, it is unclear whether reported effects represent changes in the trait domain or only some facets or items. Using data ( N = 552) from a recent intervention trial, the present study examined the effects of a digital-coaching i...

Recent intervention research has shown that personality traits can be modified through psychological interventions. However, it is unclear whether reported effects represent changes in the trait domain or only some facets or items. Using data (N = 552) from a recent intervention trial (Stieger et al., 2021) the present study examined the effects of...

Objective: Having a sense of purpose is associated with a wide variety of positive health outcomes, largely because purposeful individuals appear to take better care of themselves physically. However, work is limited regarding the role of purpose during health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: The current cross-sectional study inves...

Academic and lay interest has accrued over recent years with respect to how people develop a purpose in life. However, few theoretical models exist for understanding this developmental process, as well as how to connect one’s overarching purpose in life to their daily feelings of purposefulness. The current article presents the PATHS (Purpose As Tr...

This study investigated correlated change between the Big Five personality traits and perceived social support in old age. Two data waves with an 8-year span from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on Adult Development (ILSE) were utilized. The longitudinal sample for this study consisted of 491 older adults (aged 64–68 years at T1). Four dif...

The current longitudinal study examined the predictive associations between the development of future perceptions in adolescence and depressive symptoms in adolescence and early and middle adulthood. Participants (N = 1,527; 48.3% female; broadly representative of Western Germany with respect to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status) were measure...

Objectives: There is limited information on how a change in patients' expectations over time results in symptom change in psychotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the changes in patients' expectations and symptoms during treatment and across follow-up as well as to determine the within- and between-patient relationships between two types of...

Using a three-wave prospective cross-lagged panel design, the study examined six-month stability of burnout, self-compassion and social support among sports coaches in terms of measurement invariance, mean-level change, rank-order stability, and structural stability. The participating coaches (N = 422; Mage = 44.48, SD = 11.03) completed an online...

Introduction: This 33-year study examined associations between self-control development in adolescence and forgivingness, i.e., the dispositional tendency to forgive others, in middle adulthood. Methods: Participants were 1,350 adults aged 45 years (50.6% female). Self-control was measured yearly from age 12 to 16, while forgivingness was measur...

Background: The working alliance refers to an important relationship quality between health professionals and clients that robustly links to treatment success. Recent research shows that clients can develop an affective bond with chatbots. However, few research studies have investigated whether this perceived relationship is affected by the social...

The present study examined how personality traits manifest in daily life of older adults and distinguished between the manifestations of experiences and behaviors. We used data from an ambulatory assessment study over 10 days with assessments of trait-related experiences and behaviors obtained from 136 older adults aged between 60 and 91 years (41....

Flirting situations are opportunities to behave in extraverted ways. However, it is not clear whether engaging in flirting behavior predicts extraversion. The current study explored whether extraversion increases following a 3‐h flirt training and compared two training routes to flirting. A two‐arm randomized pre‐post design with two active conditi...

A highly relevant but provocative research question is whether and how one can intentionally change personality traits through psychological interventions, given that traits are relatively stable by definition. Recently, research has begun to investigate personality change through intervention in nonclinical populations. One attractive and innovati...

Sense of purpose predicts slower cognitive decline, reduced risk for health issues, and greater longevity (Pfund & Lewis, 2020). However, work is limited regarding how we can help older adults maintain purposefulness in daily life. The current study explored positive daily social interactions as a route to daily purposefulness in older adults, usin...

OBJECTIVES Sense of purpose predicts a wide array of positive health, cognitive, and well-being outcomes during older adulthood. However, work is limited regarding how social relations correspond to purposefulness in daily life. The current study explored daily social interactions as a route to daily purposefulness in older adults, using a measurem...

The current study examined age-related psychometrics and differences in the measurement, mean-levels, variances, and correlations of gratitude and future time perspective across adulthood using data from a cross-sectional survey in a representative Swiss sample (N = 1684, age range: 19–98 years). Local structural equation modeling was used to inves...

Worry is a central feature of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Although worry is related to anxiety and maintained by beliefs that worry is uncontrollable, there is scarce research on how individuals with GAD react to worry episodes in their daily life and how their positive experiences might impact reactions to worry episodes. The current study...

The present study examined associations between two future time perspective (FTP) dimensions (perceived opportunities and perceived time) and the Big Five personality traits during older adulthood, a developmental period that has received limited attention in personality development. Specifically, it tested whether FTP dimensions were cross-section...

The current study examined the nature of gratitude and future time perspective (FTP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the effects of age and virus worry on the associations between gratitude and remaining opportunities and time. Data came from a survey of a representative sample of Swiss adults (N = 1,008; 18–90 years) assessed during the...

Need satisfaction has been linked to a variety of important healthy aging outcomes. One open question is whether and how the expression of personality traits predicts need satisfaction in daily life. To address this question, we examined associations between momentary satisfaction of the needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy and expressio...

Objective: Are treatment effects on personality trait change ephemeral and attributable to change in clinical states? Data of an intervention study was used to examine if change in clinical states (e.g., stress or depression) accounts for change in personality traits and to test whether both changes in traits and clinical states were independently...

Objective Are treatment effects on personality trait change ephemeral and attributable to change in clinical states? Data of an intervention study was used to examine if change in clinical states (e.g., stress or depression) accounts for change in personality traits and to test whether both changes in traits and clinical states were independently a...

BACKGROUND The working alliance refers to an important relationship quality between health professionals and clients that robustly links to treatment success. Recent research shows that clients can develop an affective bond with chatbots. However, few research studies have investigated whether this perceived relationship is affected by the social r...

The concept of differentiation describes increasing or decreasing similarities between inter-individual differences on psychological constructs, reflecting processes of specialization or adaptation. In this study, we studied age-differentiation in personality traits in 1) the association between trait domains, facets and nuances, 2) the correlation...

Being securely attached and willing to forgive your partner tends to promote greater relationship success. Though attachment and partner forgiveness are associated cross-sectionally, research has yet to investigate whether and how these positive relationship factors tend to codevelop over time. The current study examined cross-lagged effects and co...

In this study, we addressed age differences in how people respond to interpersonal transgressions. Specifically, we examined whether the tendencies to respond with revenge, avoidance, and benevolence differ as a function of age in a cross-sectional study with a large sample (N = 1,413; age range: 19-83 years). We used local structural equation mode...

The goal of this study was to examine differential and correlated change in personality across the adult lifespan. Studying differential and correlated change can help understand whether intraindividual trait change trajectories deviate from the norm and how these trajectories are coupled with each other. We used data from two large longitudinal pa...

Objective: There is little evidence-based knowledge of how psychotherapists should handle both sudden gains and more gradual session-by-session changes, either in general or in individuals suffering from generalized anxiety disorder. Methods: Using an ABAB crossed-therapist randomized clinical implementation trial design (N = 80 patients and 20...

Objectives: While sense of purpose is a robust predictor of well-being, little work has considered whether the associations vary based on future time perspective. Exploring this possibility is important given that the extent to which one may pursue their life aims could be dependent upon how much time they feel that they have remaining. Methods:...

Significance Personality traits have consequences and are malleable throughout the lifespan. However, it is unclear if and how personality traits can be changed in desired directions. A 3-mo digital personality change intervention was deployed, and a large-scale randomized controlled trial ( n = 1,523) was conducted to examine the effects of intend...

Personality traits predict important life outcomes such as success in love and work life, wellbeing, health, and longevity. Given these positive relations to important outcomes, economists, policy-makers, and scientists have proposed intervening to change personality traits to promote positive life outcomes. However, non-clinical interventions to c...

Despite the highly publicized beneficial effects of physical activity, 51.1% of middle-aged US adults do not achieve the recommended minimum of aerobic physical activity needed to maintain health. A sedentary lifestyle can be attributed in part to a lack of self-control and there is some evidence that self-control strategies can be improved with ta...

Objectives Having a broadened perspective on one’s future has been associated with better affective well-being, including reduced reports of depressive symptoms. However, research is limited regarding which aspect of future time perspective is associated with depressive symptoms, and whether these findings are consistent across individuals. Method...

Abstract What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or “WEIRD” measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or “independent”), high-arousal emotion. However, research from East�ern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an in...

Das Thema Verzeihen hat in der Psychologie in den letzten Jahren zunehmend Beachtung gefunden, nicht zuletzt wegen seiner Praxis- und Alltagsrelevanz. Dabei ist eine beachtliche Anzahl wissenschaftlicher Beiträge erschienen, die sich mit der Bedeutung des Verzeihens für Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und Beziehungen des Individuums sowie mit sozialen und...

Longitudinal research is a unique research method that allows studying changes in individuals over time and how these changes vary within and across individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about longitudinal research. The first part defines longitudinal research and discusses different perspectives of longitudinal change. The sec...

Cognitive methods refer to research approaches that incorporate the understanding of cognitive processing and individual differences in cognitive performance of individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about different cognitive methods and discuss their application for personality science. The first part argues for the importance...

Researchers have called for gerontologists to spend greater attention on promoting happiness in older adulthood, a point aligned with the general public’s interest in finding the keys to being happy later in life. However, targeting and even defining happiness comes with several caveats and challenges, leaving researchers to make difficult decision...

Cognitive methods refer to research approaches that incorporate the understanding of cognitive processing and individual differences in cognitive performance of individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about different cognitive methods and discuss their application for personality science. The first part argues for the importance...

Longitudinal research is a unique research method that allows studying changes in individuals over time and how these changes vary within and across individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about longitudinal research. The first part defines longitudinal research and discusses different perspectives of longitudinal change. The sec...

Smartphones promise great potential for personality science to study people's everyday life behaviours. Even though personality psychologists have become increasingly interested in the study of personality states, associations between smartphone data and personality states have not yet been investigated. This study provides a first step towards und...

This protocol describes a study that will test the effectiveness of a 7-week non-clinical digital coaching intervention to promote self-control. The goal of the coaching is to support and guide people who are willing and motivated to improve their self-control with the help of the smartphone application MindHike. The coaching is based on a process...

The bidirectional interplay between chronic pain and negative affect is well-established in patient samples. However, less is known about the day-to-day relationship between pain and affect of older adults without severe illnesses and to what extent this association differs within and between individuals. A total of 224 participants (Mage = 77.6, S...

Cognitive methods refer to research approaches that incorporate the understanding of cognitive processing and individual differences in cognitive performance of individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about different cognitive methods and discuss their application for personality science. The first part argues for the importance...

Longitudinal research is a unique research method that allows studying changes in individuals over time and how these changes vary within and across individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about longitudinal research. The first part defines longitudinal research and discusses different perspectives of longitudinal change. The sec...

Early investigations of the neuroticism by conscientiousness interaction with regards to health have been promising, but to date, there have been no systematic investigations of this interaction that account for the various personality measurement instruments, varying populations, or aspects of health. The current study – the second of three – uses...

Objective The current exploratory study sought to examine dispositional optimism, or the general expectation for positive outcomes, around the world. Method Dispositional optimism and possible correlates were assessed across 61 countries (N = 15,185; mean age = 21.92; 77% female). Mean‐level differences in optimism were computed along with their r...

This systematic review examined the associations of personality traits with cognitive failures and cognitive complaints across the adult lifespan. We first present three conceptual models (cognitive abilities, mental processes, and reporting bias) that could explain why personality is related to such behaviors. We then conducted five separate meta‐...

In the field of forgiveness interventions, little research has been done on the comparative effects of learning-oriented versus action-oriented routes in managing unresolved interpersonal transgressions. In this study, 73 older adults ( M = 68.8 years) were randomized to either a learning-oriented group intervention condition that emphasized learni...

Current literature suggests that neuroticism is positively associated with maladaptive life choices, likelihood of disease, and mortality. However, recent research has identified circumstances under which neuroticism is associated with positive outcomes. The current project examined whether "healthy neuroticism", defined as the interaction of neuro...

Desires to increase in extraversion and conscientiousness as well as to decrease in neuroticism are the three most prevalent personality change goals. This study describes characteristics of people who wanted to change one of these personality traits (total N = 1,196) with the help of a digital personality change intervention. The extent to which c...

Objectives: Daily life behaviour can be studied by smart mobile devices. The current study investigated associations between personality traits and smartphone usage in daily routine. Methods: 526 participants used the Track Your Daily Routine smartphone app (TYDR) for 48 days, on average (SD = 63.2, range 2 to 304). The Big Five Inventory 2 (BFI-2)...

Context-aware applications stemming from diverse fields like mobile health, recommender systems, and mobile commerce potentially benefit from knowing aspects of the user’s personality. As filling out personality questionnaires is tedious, we propose the prediction of the user’s personality from smartphone sensor and usage data. In order to collect...

Desires to increase in extraversion and conscientiousness as well as to decrease in neuroticism are the three most prevalent personality change goals. This study describes characteristics of people who wanted to change one of these personality traits (total N = 1,196) with the help of a digital personality change intervention. The extent to which c...

This study assessed change in self‐reported Big Five personality traits. We conducted a coordinated integrative data analysis using data from 16 longitudinal samples, comprising a total sample of over 60 000 participants. We coordinated models across multiple datasets and fit identical multi‐level growth models to assess and compare the extent of t...

The current studies investigated the extent that sense of purpose is associated with desirable relationship variables, such as relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, perceived quality of alternatives, and investment size. Data were collected from two online surveys of 1,001 and 1,594 participants in relationships (Study 1: M = 46.68, S...

Research indicates that it might be possible to change personality traits through intervention, but this clinical research has primarily focused on changing neuroticism. To date, there are no established, proven techniques for changing other domains of personality, such as conscientiousness and openness. This research examined the effects of a two‐...

Research indicates that it might be possible to change personality traits through intervention, but this clinical research has primarily focused on changing neuroticism. To date there are no established, proven techniques for changing other domains of personality, such as conscientiousness and openness. This research examined the effects of a two-w...

Background Efforts to identify important risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia have to date mostly relied on meta-analytic strategies. A comprehensive empirical evaluation of these risk factors within a single study is currently lacking. Objective We used a combined methodology of machine learning and semi-parametric survival analysis...

Cognitive complaints and engagement in cognitive activities are two consistent predictors of cognitive aging outcomes, including risk for nonnormative decline. Though research has considered predictors of complaints and engagement in general, little work has attended to the fact that these fluctuate at the daily level. The current study examined in...

Research has made great progress in recent years to better understand how individual differences predict consequential healthy aging outcomes and why and when individual differences may matter in everday life. This final chapter integrates and discusses the contributions in this volume around three broad sections. The first section relates to “new”...

Worldwide efforts to promote healthy aging have increased in recent years, given the longer life expectancies. The current volume was organized in order to discuss how personality science may be employed in these efforts. In this introduction, we discuss the previous efforts to link personality constructs to the promotion of healthy aging. In so do...